Linux is quickly becoming the operating system (OS) of choice for servers and other types of computing equipment; yet, the question remains whether or not it genuinely provides a higher level of security than Microsoft's Windows OS. The desktop operating system with the largest market share globally belongs to Microsoft and is called Windows.
This operating system is used on more than 90 percent of desktop computers throughout the world. Windows is the operating system that is most often used on personal computers and is relied on by a large number of commercial enterprises.
On the other hand, Linux is gaining more and more users, mostly as a result of the safety features it offers. Linux is quickly overtaking Windows in terms of user adoption for a number of different reasons. It provides increased versatility, cost effectiveness, and ease of operation.
When it comes to security, Linux is way ahead of Windows:
- Linux is less widely used and therefore less attractive to hackers than Windows.
- Linux is an open source operating system. Every program and kernel code passes through hundreds of eyes. It's harder to sneak in malicious code than it is to climb the Eiffel Tower.
- Linux code is of higher quality than Windows code because the code is constantly cleaned, reworked, and stripped of junk.
- Linux is developed not only by volunteer programmers, but also by employees of the biggest IT giants like Google, IBM, Oracle and many others.
- Linux uses mature code as its foundation. With Windows, you will always find "fresh" features that are not yet mature and offer attack surface.
- Linux is installed on most servers, which means that the system must be robust, stable and secure.
- Linux has no executable files that can infect the system with a virus. To run them, special permissions and the user's consent are required.
In a direct comparison, Linux is far ahead of Windows. It is precisely because Windows has closed code that it is a risk: you could build backdoors into the system and none of the users would ever know,
With Linux, a malicious code or backdoor would not survive for long because many programmers work on the code and know what code with security holes looks like.
Much of the Linux code today is developed on community platforms like Github, where any user can view the code and submit their own code. The process of code review has become very efficient and effective, making it even harder to introduce vulnerabilities into the code.
